


Smile for the Picture

by Scrcndpty



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Burns, Gen, Injury, Insecure Loki (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reader-Insert, Self-Harm, Soulmates, not fatal tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2019-10-08 20:30:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17393204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scrcndpty/pseuds/Scrcndpty
Summary: Visibly annoyed, Loki watched as those girls asked Thor for a selfie. And at first he paid no mind to the small presence standing right next to them. Not until you had cleared your throat softly did he spare you a glance, surprised by seeing the awestruck smile on your face.“Hey, um, could we take a picture, too?”When you stand next to your soulmate, all injuries are healed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Had this idea a few weeks ago and after finding a fitting Soulmate AU and finally wrote it down. More like a drabble than anything, but I still like it.
> 
> This takes place during Thor: Ragnarok where Thor and Loki search for Odin. I'm sure you will remember the scene.
> 
> Enjoy!

Normally, you wouldn’t have looked up. You just had finished your shift as a part time cashier, and even though you had thought it dull and boring, you couldn’t believe how draining and exhausting it was.

Today you had even managed to get this nasty scratch on the back of your hand. You didn’t know how. You didn’t even know it was possible to hurt yourself as a cashier. But somehow it was there, and of course _nobody_ had anything to help you patch it up.

Though, you had to pay rent, your bills and your student loans somehow, so you didn’t quit.

Anyways, _normally_ , you wouldn’t have looked up. After work you just wanted to get home as soon as possible, stuff your mouth with Mac 'N' Cheese while watching some funny series (you were currently on season six of “Modern Family”) and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day, only to feel guilty later and trade in two hours of sleep for studying.

_Normally_ , you blocked out the busy and hustling city with headphones and music, but you forgot them at home (which wasn’t normal). So you heard the squealing of these three girls as they bounced up to someone, one of them nervously asking for a picture.

You looked up, gaze falling first one the girls, then on - holy shit, this was Thor! God of Thunder! One of the Avengers! Halting in your steps, you did a double take, blinking rapidly. But no, the bulk of a man didn’t disappear, dutifully smiling broadly in every picture every single one of these girls wanted.

Right next to him stood - holy shit, holy _fucking_ shit, it was Loki! _The_ Loki! The same one who wanted to conquer the Earth a few years ago (and yes, you would have _totally_ let him conquer you)!

Your eyes widened and you instantly fumbled for your own phone, starting to walk into the group’s direction, nervously rubbing at the skin around your wound.

  


* * *

  


Loki couldn’t and didn’t want to watch his facial expression. Visibly annoyed, he watched as those little girls asked for Thor’s pictures, acting as if he didn’t stand right next to them.

(Sure, he didn’t expect them to squeal in delight like they did with Thor, but at least recognition would have been nice. He did left an impression the last time he was on Earth; Thor was not the only one, thank you very much.)

At first he paid no mind to the small presence right next to him, too absorbed in his own thoughts. Not until you had cleared your throat softly did he spare you a glance, now surprised at seeing the awestruck smile on your face.

“Hey, um, could we take a picture, too?”

Your smile widened a bit, hope shining in your eyes. Loki looked at the phone held between your fingers, watching as you rotated it in your hands again and again.

To be honest, he wasn’t expecting this. He had expected to be ignored (as the girls already did), maybe feared or something like that. But he wasn’t expecting someone like you asking him for a picture.

As he watched you, he decided to do you a favor and not only take the picture, but also smile.

And smile he did also when he nodded at your question; a satisfied smirk he couldn’t hold back at the fact that _he_ was chosen over his brother for once in his life.

You beamed at him, unlocking and holding up your phone, and waiting for Loki to position himself beside you. He looked at himself on the small display (he really looked good in this black suit), and let the corners of his mouth twitch up into a smile.

Happily, you snapped the picture, looking back at him after you had finished.

“Thank you,” you whispered, sounding a bit breathless. And yes, Loki couldn’t help but give a small smile of his own, up until -

“Do you … do you think Thor would let me take a picture, too?” You gestured to Loki’s brother awkwardly, smile growing uneasy.

Loki barely managed to keep in the frustrated growl, mouth already opening to say something through gritted teeth, when -

“My step sister is a huge fan and I really cannot wait to rub it in her face that _I_ met Thor and she didn’t. And I need evidence.”

You grinned wickedly and Loki decided he liked that look on you.

“I will not be the one to keep this joy from you,” he said (maybe a bit too poetic?), but you still grinned and took a step forward to ask Thor for the photo.

Mumbling a quick thanks after, you turned back to Loki. Did he also like the way you bowed a little, phone clasped between your hands, as you thanked him? Maybe.

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” you said, feeling all giddy inside when Loki smiled back.

“The pleasure’s all mine.” Loki found himself returning the bow. His gaze fell on your hands while doing so, watching as a series of scratches on the back of your right hand slowly healed themselves. In a matter of seconds, the skin would be as if the injury had never happened.

His head snapped up, fixing you with a sharp stare, but before he could say anything more, the ground quite literally opened up and swallowed him.

You let out a startled sound, staring at the spot Loki just stand in mere seconds ago. Then you stared at your hands, figuring this was what he was looking at before he gave you that intense gaze and vanished into thin air.

Your wound had stopped healing as soon as Loki (involuntarily) left your side.


	2. Chapter 2

“Mother?”

“Yes, my child?”

“What is a soulmate?”

Frigga would be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised by her son’s question. For a short moment, she was at a loss of words, not sure how she should start this conversation, even though she knew from early on that it would come - some day.

She didn’t think it would be this soon, but Loki had always been a curious, smart child, devouring every book in sight, where he surely must have seen the term to be asking about it.

The Queen of Asgard smiled warmly and signed her youngest son to come near, wrapping her arms around his smaller form to lift him and sat him down in her lap.

Loki squirmed a bit, shifting to get comfortable, clutching Frigga’s offered hand.

“A soulmate,” she began, “a soulmate is a person, the only person you will ever meet, that knows you better than anyone ever will, that probably knows you better than they know themselves.

“They will stay by your side and they will stay there forever, no matter what. They accept you, and they will support you when no one else does so. A soulmate is someone you carry with you your whole life, and they love you and you will love them forevermore.”

Loki looked at Frigga with wide eyes, small fingers gripping hers. “Are you and father soulmates?” he asked.

His mother laughed quietly, albeit shaking her head no. “I am afraid not.”

“Do you not love each other?”

“Of course we do. Soulmates are a wonderful thing, Loki, fate has asssigned them to be together, but it is important that you understand that not having a soulmate does not mean you cannot love somebody else.

“Soulmates have become a rare thing. It is considered a miracle if you are assigned a soulmate _and_ if you find them. But you are still able to love someone with all your heart; just like I love your father, your brother, and you, my darling.”

Gently, Frigga caressed Loki’s cheek, a warm smile blooming on her face that he returned.

“I want a soulmate,” he suddenly stated, straightening in Frigga’s lap, his other hand coming up to grab the top of her dress for support. He wasn’t sure for himself if he really understood what his mother told him, but he was sure that having a soulmate was a wonderful thing, something he wouldn’t like to miss if he could help it. “Do you think I can have a soulmate?”

Frigga opened her mouth to answer, but once again she was at a loss of words for a moment. She swallowed before smiling again. “ Fate can be erratic, sometimes. The last couple of soulmates that got together in Asgard has been centuries ago. But …” she paused, mulling over if what she was about to say next should be told or rather kept quiet about.

“I can have a soulmate, right?” Loki asked, voice full of hope.

“If anybody I know deserves a soulmate, my darling, it is _you_ ,” she said, and every doubt she had about saying this was washed away with the sheer lightening blooming on her son’s face.

“I cannot wait to meet them, mother!” he exclaimed, the smile on his face so wide it seemed to big for his small face. “How do I know it is them?”

“Well, it is said that your soulmate is capable of healing every injury possible. All it takes is them to stand by your side, and your body will be completed just like they complete your soul.”

  


* * *

  


It was in times like these where Loki clung to the notion that he had a soulmate, that he was destined to meet them. Where his brother was once again chosen over him. Where he was cast aside like a cheap but possible replacement when no one else was available. But Thor was there, so there was no need for him.

“I don’t want Loki on my team! We are going to loose for sure, then!”

The Lady Sif looked really upset. Loki felt upset as well, but he worked hard to hide it.

He thought about how his soulmate would be delighted about having him on their team.

“You have Fandral and _Thor_!” Sif continued, gesturing at Volstagg, “that’s not fair!”

“Well, I’m on your team,” came Hogun’s voice, but Sif was not impressed. She scoffed.

“Right. You and _Loki_.”

Loki thought he had learned to not let the comments of the Warrior’s Three and the Lady Sif get to him, but sometimes … well sometimes it was hard to overhear the constant disapproval of other people. It had always been like this. Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, Hogun, they were always against him. He was never enough, no matter what he did, what he tried. He was never enough.

Thor must have seen and actually notice the abasement written on Loki’s face, and it actually surprised him that Thor stood up for him.

“Loki has learned magic from mother,” he said. “He will be a great addition to any team and he is certainly not helpless.”

Lady Sif pressed her lips into a thin line, gracing Loki with a short glance. “Alright, fine, but after our inevitable loss we are going to form new teams!”

“No.”

“Pardon me?”

“No,” Loki repeated, reminding himself to hold his head high. “I am tired of you and your childish antics, your poor need to seek acceptance and value in mindless violence you call ‘training.’”

“Loki,” Thor called out, but Loki quickly silenced him by holding up his hand. He was a prince of Asgard; he couldn’t - shouldn’t - care less about the opinions of mere citizen when it came to his value.

“I know my worth,” he said, looking Lady Sif dead into the eyes, satisfied when she couldn’t hold his gaze longer than for a few seconds. “Your and your companion's pathetic attempt at making me feel less does not matter.”

The silence hovering in the air was thick, up until Volstagg couldn’t help himself but snicker, trying and failing miserably to hide it behind a hand.

“I apologize, I was merely waiting for the part where you say that your _soulmate_ would be able to see your apparent worth.”

Loki felt his blood ran cold. Of course they would bring up the whole soulmate thing. He had really been stupid to assume he could tell anybody of this even back as a child.

However, he forced himself to stomp down the anger and sadness flaring up inside him, threatening to cloud his mind. A devilish smile covered his face like a mask, hiding his true feelings.

“You,” he said, voice quiet but clear, cold, and drained of every emotion, “would do good to remember whom you are speaking to.”

Just like Sif, Volstagg wasn’t able to hold his gaze for long, blinking and then looking to the side.

It was silent, the loudest sound was everyone’s breathing.

Loki turned sharply, forcing himself to keep his steps slow, not too fast so they couldn’t see his exit as what it truly was - fleeing.

Thor called out to him, but didn’t follow. Just as the doors to his chambers clicked shut behind him did Loki allow back his emotions.

  


* * *

  


His skin was blue.

A kind of bright, soft blue, albeit cold. Maybe a bit of gray mixed in. He had narrow ridges on his face, a unique pattern adorning his forehead and cheeks. The ones on his throat even reached down under his collar, but he wasn’t able to muster up the courage to look further yet, to look how his body had changed to something else entirely.

Loki’s breath hitched when he looked his mirror self into its eyes – _his_ eyes, screaming at him in an angry red. The color enveloped his iris, the usual white of his eyes, shining intensely except for the deep black of his pupil, a small dot in this sea of bloody red.

His fingers, just as blue as his face, came up to gently prod at his skin. The relief washing through Loki when his skin at least felt the same as it used to feel made him close his eyes.

Next there was disappointment when the sight greeting him after opening his eyes was still blue, and red, and wrong. Just wrong. Loki felt stupid to have thought it would all change just because he didn’t see it for a few seconds.

Lips pressed together, Loki turned his head away from the mirror, blinking rapidly to force back the tears threatening to spill. It took him a while until he regained his composure, and when he looked back into the mirror his green eyes were there again, skin back to its pale color, smooth and without the ridges, magic back to concealing his apparent true features.

He was a Frost Giant, a Jotunn; a race the Asgardians first battled against over two thousand years ago. A race every child on Asgard learned to fear from a young age on. Loki could still hear his brother’s – no - Thor’s voice when they were children.

“ _When I am king, I will hunt the monsters down and slay them all!”_

What would his soulmate say when they realized that fate endowed them with a monster?

  


* * *

  


“What would your soulmate say when they could see you know?”

A small involuntary chuckle escaped Loki’s lips at his mother’s question.

"My soulmate?" he asked and lifted his hands a bit, the chains confining them clanging with the movement. "I wasn't aware that monsters deserved soulmates."

"Loki." Frigga sounded exasperated, his name leaving her in a exhausted sigh. The guards stepped into the background with a quick glance of her when she moved closer.

"Loki," she repeated his name, quietly. "What were you thinking?"

She searched for his gaze, but Loki evaded every time. He didn't have an answer for her question. He couldn't tell her about what happened after he fell from the Bifröst. He couldn't tell anyone.

He couldn't tell anyone that he never had wanted to do this.

Frigga brought up a hand, fingers caressing his cheek, and it took Loki everything he had to turn his face away instead of giving in to the loving touch of a mother.

“What would you say to your soulmate if they were standing here in my place?”

Maybe this would have sound reproachful from anybody else, but Loki didn’t feel like Frigga had ever intended for it to sound reproachful. And it made Loki crack.

“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I don’t know, I … I’m a monster.”

“No!” Frigga was quick to dispute what he said, shaking her head to emphasize. “You are my son, and -”

“I am not,” Loki interrupted, “I am not your son. I am a Frost Giant; the monster parents tell their children about at night. My soulmate would be lucky if they would never meet me.”

Frigga sighed at Loki’s words. She saw the pain in his eyes, the same one she felt when he said he wasn’t her son.

“Do you remember when you were a child and asked me about soulmates for the first time?”

“Yes.”

“What did I say, then? What did I say about soulmates that they do?”

Loki blinked. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what Frigga meant, the words had been burned into his mind after all. So he repeated them just like his mother had said them hundreds of years ago.

“They will stay by your side and will stay there forever, no matter what. They accept you, and they will support you when no one else does so.”

Frigga smiled. “You will do good to remember that. You _are_ my son, and I will not tolerate such nonsense.”

“Yes, mother.”

Loki learned to cherish Frigga’s words again, the same ones that embraced and comforted him in his darkest moments – every time he felt to be below his brother, when he learned of his true origin, when he fell into Thanos’s hands, and later when his mother had died.

However, it did feel surreal to Loki when _you_ first addressed _him._ He thought his heart stopped for a second when he saw these scratches on the back of your hand, still rough and encompassed by irritated skin, mere seconds away from closing up completely to leave behind perfectly smooth, soft skin.

You still had this quite dazzling smile on your face when he looked back at you, only for him, but even before he could think about what to say next, he was whisked away,  falling into darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Due to popular demand, I decided to continue _Smile for the Picture!_ Got a couple of things planned out for this one and for now I am quite happy with it!
> 
> This part is more of background centred around Loki than the continuation plot wise of the last part. But yeah, kinda like the background story I made for this whole thing. Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

“Did he … did he transform himself into a piece of paper?”

Thor looked at you like you had grown a second head. But then he cocked his head to the side, looking like he thought about the possibility.

“No, surely not,” he said though, bending down to pick up the note.

“What does it say?” you asked, curiously stepping a few steps closer to peek at the paper in Thor’s hand. Your eyes widened when you saw the address written on it.

_177A Bleecker Street_

“Oh,” you exclaimed, “I know where that is! I can show you, and accompany you!”

“No offense, but I do not think a tiny human like you is fit for this kind of … trip.”

You gaped at Thor. Was he serious? Just because he was nearly two heads taller than you and built like a brick house! You weren’t _tiny!_

Shaking your head, you realized that Thor already took off, black umbrella in one hand, note in the other. You hurried after him, stepping right in front of him, forcing him to stop if he didn’t want to run you over.

“Please!” you begged, “you have to let me go with you!”

Thor wasn’t sure what to make of you. You were persistent and apparently hell bent on following him, if he wanted or not. But why?

“I’m saying this again: I don’t think it would be safe for you. And I really need to find Loki, so I go to this place this piece of paper wants me and you go wherever you need to be in this moment.”

You were growing more and more frustrated. “You don’t understand! Do you see this?”

Thor looked at the back of your hand you practically had shoved in his face.

“There’s a scratch.”

“No! I mean yes! But- I- you see, I got it today.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nearly healed all the way, alright? And I don’t have such healing abilities. I am no super soldier or mutant or whatever, and the only way that’s left for a scratch, even for a simple scratch, to heal up like that is a -”

“A soulmate.”

You nodded. “I think, maybe – and I know it is like, super rare nowadays – but I think Loki may be my soulmate.”

Thor looked at you for a long seemingly never ending minute. “Alright,” he said, slipping you the note with the address. “You said you know where this place is?”

  


* * *

  


It must have already been a million times where you walked by exactly this place. You knew it was there, had been there since forever, but it was only now that you realized you absolutely had no fucking clue _what_ it was even there for.

Thor ascended the steps first, waiting until you stopped right beside him before knocking. Suddenly, you had the feeling of your breathing just being stuck in your throat, pressure formed all around your body and – your breath got knocked out of your lungs, everything was back to normal, except for the fact that you were now standing inside and not longer outside of the building.

You stumbled a bit in your place and Thor closed a hand around your arm, helping you steady yourself.

“What was that?” you asked, and Thor shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know. But we’ve been let in, right?”

You nodded, glancing around the room. It looked rather like a museum than – once again you didn’t know what it was supposed to be. It reminded you of the school trip you had in year seven when you visited some museum about the Middle Ages.

“Thor Odinson.”

That voice sent chills all over your body, and you weren’t sure if it was the pleasant kind. Along with Thor, you turned to the direction the voice came from, and there was the silhouette of a man, cape fluttering behind him, and yes, he was also hovering a few inches above the ground.

Could it get even more surreal?

The man’s form floated near, out of the shadows in right in front of you both. Thor lifted his umbrella.

“God of Thunder,” the man said, landing on the floor silently. “You can put down the umbrella.”

There was now an umbrella stand next to Thor. With a last glance to the man in front of you, he set down his umbrella.

Once again you were transported. Thor looked as confused as you, but was quick to try and hide it. He casually sauntered over to a table where some decoration object was standing on. The man now leaning against the wall kind of reminded you of someone, but you couldn’t pinpoint exactly of whom.

“So,” Thor began, picking apart the decoration, “Earth has, uh, wizards now?”

His words were followed by a loud clanking sound as he tried to stick back whatever he ripped off the weird decoration (was it even decoration?) and messed up even more.

The man didn’t look amused. “The preferred term is ‘Master of the Mystic Arts.’ You can leave that now.”

Thor nodded, pushed one of the sticks back towards the middle of the table and propped up his hand on his hip. “Alright, wizard. Who are you and why should I care?”

Worry drew your eyebrows together. You knew Thor was powerful, he was a god, but neither you nor him knew who this person was and what he could do. What he could else do besides transporting you to wherever he wanted.

Said man took a deep breath, already looking like someone who had to deal with a noisy toddler for far too long now.

“My name is Dr. Stephen Strange and I have some questions for you.”

“Wait a minute!”

Stephen’s gaze fell on you for the first time.

“Aren’t you that neurosurgeon? A friend of mine works as a nurse at Metro-General Hospital. He told me about you.”

“And you are?”

“I, uh, my name’s Y/N. L/N.”

His eyes narrowed at you. “Yes, I’ve worked there as a neurosurgeon before.” Stephen looked back to Thor. He didn’t even have to vocally state his question why you were with Thor.

“Y/N had been speaking with Loki when you, uh, made him vanish.” Thor wagged his hand in the air, indicating the circle that had appeared under Loki’s feet.

“Alright,” Stephen drawled. “Well, you can have Loki when we finished talking. Please, take a seat.”

You were glad that Stephen transported you straight into a chair this time. All these sudden jumps were beginning to make you dizzy.

“Tea?”

Oh, and there was a cup of tea right in your hand. You thanked the sorcerer, and took a sip. Thor wasn’t as satisfied with his tea as you.

“I don’t drink tea,” he said.

“What do you drink?”

“Not tea.”

Thor promptly had a huge jug of beer in his hand. Now that everyone had something he’d like to drink, Stephen finally came to the important part.

“So, I keep a watch list of individuals and beings from other realms that may be a threat to this world. Sure, you’re adopted brother Loki is one of those beings.”

You quietly sipped on your tea, while Thor set his beer down – after gulping down more than half of it. The jug refilled itself.

“Why the inclusion?” he asked.

Stephen leaned forward in his seat. “Why did you bring him here?”

“We’re looking for my father.”

“If I were to tell you where Odin was, all parties concerned would return to Asgard promptly?”

Thor smiled. “Promptly.”

“Great! Then I’ll help you.”

Stephen leaned back into his seat, but Thor had a frown on his face. “If you knew where he was, why didn’t you call me?”

“Oh, I have to tell you he was adamant not to be disturbed. He had chosen to remain in exile.” Stephen hummed. “And you don’t have a phone.”

“No, I don’t have a phone, but you could have sent an electronic letter. It’s called an e-mail.”

“Yeah. Do you have a computer?”

Thor shook his head. “No. What for?”

You couldn’t help but snort into your tea. Both men looked at you.

“What?” Thor asked.

“Nothing, nothing!” you hurried to say. “Everything’s alright.”

“Anyway,” Thor continued, “my father is no longer in exile. So, if you can tell me where he is, I can take him home.”

“He’s in Norway,” Stephen said, and transported you all in front of a book shelve. He was flipping through a book, while you and Thor stumbled once again. Beer sloshed over the rim of his jug. All the jumping around must have an effect on Thor as well. While Stephen kept on talking, he had to support himself on the shelf next to him.

“Let’s see if this incantation requires any Asgardian modifications.” Stephen looked back up from the book. “Nope!” The book was closed with a dull thump and you were all now standing next to a table.

“Could you stop doing that?” you asked, your voice and legs wobbling and your head spinning. One more time and you might empty the contents of your stomach. Thor wasn’t better off than you.

Stephen ignored you and your state. “I need one strand of your hair.”

Thor stood straight again after he set down his beer. “My hair is not to be meddled with– ow!”

Another thing Stephen ignored, holding the newly plucked strand of hair between his hands. Orange sparks began to fly.

Another jump. Thor tumbled down the last steps of a staircase, right into your legs. Holding yourself up hadn’t been easy in the first place, so it wasn’t a surprise that you fell right over Thor.

“I-I’m sorry,” you stuttered.

While you and Thor climbed to your feet, Stephen spun the spell in the air, building it up until he could release it. A portal now stood in the room, leading the way to Norway.

“So, are you going to go with Thor?” Stephen asked, looking at you.

“I, uh, I don’t know. I just want to speak to Loki. Maybe decide after that.”

“And what is it you want to speak with him about? Should I worry?”

You shook your head frantically. “No, no! It’s just, um, Loki might be my soulmate.”

Stephen’s eyes widened. “Your soulmate? Interesting. I’m not sure if I should congratulate you, or pity you.”

“Hey,” you said, “you’re talking about my possible soulmate.”

“Yeah, alright.” Stephen shifted his attention back to Thor. “Odin’s waiting for you. Oh, and don’t forget your umbrella.”

“Ah, yes.” Thor held out his right arm. Crashing sounds were heard for about a minute, then the umbrella flew right into his hand.

“Sorry about that.” He brushed away glass shards. “I suppose we’ll need my brother back.”

“Oh, yeah, right,” Stephen nodded and lifted his hands, one hand stretched to draw circles into the air. Another portal opened, also surrounded by orange sparks. Loki fell right through it, landing on the ground with a thud.

He really didn’t look happy.

“I have been falling for thirty minutes!” he exclaimed before he climbed to his feet.

This may had been the moment where you could have said something, as Loki clearly hadn’t noticed you. But you didn’t know what to say, the last few minutes had been a real whirlwind, happening too fast for you to be able to catch up.

“You can handle it from here.”

“Yes,” said Thor in affirmation, offering Stephen his hand. “Thank you very much for your help.”

“Handle me?” Loki asked, “do you?” With a quick movement of both of his hands, he produced two daggers out of thin air.

“Loki,” Thor said, holding up his own hand. He looked mildly concerned, but didn’t do anything to stop his brother who seemed to be two seconds away from murdering Stephen.

“You think you’re some kind of sorcerer, you second-rate -”

“E-Excuse me!”

You stuttered at the beginning a bit, but your voice was otherwise steady, slightly raised so Loki could hear you over the sound of his rage.

His head whipped into your direction, that intense gaze burning into your form reminding you of the moment just before he fell through the portal in the ground. Loki halted in his steps.

“ _You.”_

“Right,” Stephen drawled, completely unfazed by the god trying to stab him. Instead he waved his hands again. “Bye bye.”

With that, the portal engulfed Thor, Loki, and yourself, transporting you to Norway. You found yourself standing in tall grass. The wind was whipping around your face.

You let your fingertips glide over the back of your hand. There was no trace of your wound from earlier, the skin now as smooth as ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for my lack of posting the past few weeks. I got caught up in University stuff and went to visit my parents the last two weeks, so I didn't really get to sit down and write. Enjoy! 💕


	4. Chapter 4

“D-do you need help?”

Your voice was quiet, tentative, as you offered Loki your assistance. He was still lying on the ground, now surrounded by grass. Turning, he propped himself up on his elbow to shoot you an incredulous look. Nevertheless, you reached out, hopeful but still surprised when Loki actually moved to place your hand into your palm, you fingers closing around his to help him up.

You clearly hadn’t thought this through, you realized, as the god was close now, well into your own sphere of privacy. Loki was still gripping your hand, turning to inspect the flawless skin of your formerly injured hand. The fingers of his other hand came up to caress your flesh, soft and gentle.

“Impossible,” he murmured, staring unmoving before abruptly stepping back. His gaze, now catching yours, never left you as he produced a dagger once again with a flick of his wrist. His movements were elegant, as expected from a god, even as he pressed the tip of his weapon into the palm of his hand.

The skin of his hand paled considerably even more, turning to an ashen gray. Dark blood oozed from the cut, but it wasn’t long, only a matter of the blink of an eye, until the bleeding stopped, the wound closed back up and the color of his skin returned to its previous, more healthy looking paleness.

You watched, couldn’t do much more than watch. Even though you had had your suspicions - scratch that, the evidence that Loki was your soulmate was your own hand – seeing it right in front of you, made everything even more clear, more real, and that terrified you.

The dagger in Loki’s hand had vanished, but his piercing gaze had never left you. Green eyes bored into your very soul. With every other person it might have been uncomfortable, but well, Loki _was_ your soulmate, and in this moment it felt like he just belonged there. It eased your anxiety a bit and you were able to return his gaze easily.

“Loki.”

Thor interrupted your little moment, standing a couple feet away from you both as he called Loki’s name. He pulled your attention away from each other and you followed his gaze to the cliffsides. An older man was standing there, presumably his father Odin.

Loki followed his brother, you walking a few steps behind. While both the gods joined their father, you stopped with a respectable distance, though not out of ear shot.

“Father,” Thor greeted, but Odin didn’t return it. He was still looking into the distance, ocean as wide as you could see.

“Look at this place,” he finally said, “it’s beautiful.”

Thor briefly directed his gaze in the same direction before he regarded Odin again.

“Father, it’s us.”

Waves crashed against stone. Odin looked at Loki to his right side. “My sons. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I know. We’ve come to take you home.”

“Home,” Odin repeated, as if he tried the word for the first time in his life.

“Yes.”

“Your mother. She calls me.” Odin looked around. “Do you hear it?”

Thor looked shocked, then angered. “Loki, lift your magic,” he demanded, but Loki simply shook his head.

Odin chuckled when he looked at his youngest son. “Took me quite a while to break free from your spell. Frigga would have been proud.” He turned his back to the water. “What’s it with me. I don’t have much time.”

Accompanied by both Thor and Loki, Odin sat down on one of the rocks. Then he looked at you.

“What brings Y/N with us?” he asked, and you didn’t know what surprised you more; that the Allfather chose to speak with you, or that he knew your name.

“I, uh, how-”

“We met Y/N when Loki and I searched for you,” Thor came to the rescue. You nodded along.

“Come, sit with us, my child. Now that your and Loki’s fate has finally intertwined, you deserve to know what will be brought upon us.”

You gulped and hesitantly stepped closer, taking a seat next to Loki. Unsure of what else to do, you took care to not be too close to him (soulmate or not, you didn’t really know him) and placed your hands in your lap, fingers wringing with each other.

“I know we have failed you, but we can make this right,” Thor said.

“I failed _you_ ,” Odin protested. “It is upon us. Ragnarök.”

Thor shook his head. “No, I’ve stopped Ragnarök. I put an end to Surtur.”

This time it was Odin who shook his head. “No, it’s already begun. She’s coming. My life was all that held her back, but my time has come.”

You really had no idea what they were talking about, but by the looks on Thor’s and Loki’s face, they didn’t, either. The only thing you knew that Ragnarök was basically the world going to shit.

“I cannot keep her away any longer,” Odin continued.

Thor voiced what you were all thinking. “What are you talking about?”

Gaze back to the seemingly endless horizon, Odin answered. “Goddess of death. Hela. The firstborn.” He sighed. “Your sister.”

Loki looked at Thor, reciprocating his confused expression. The latter drew in a stuttering breath. “Our what?”

Odin didn’t, maybe couldn’t look at them. “A violent appetite’s rule beyond my control. Couldn’t stop her so I imprisoned her. Locked her away.” He cleared his throat, still unable to look neither Thor nor Loki in the eye. “She draws the strength from Asgard and once she gets there, her powers will be limitless.”

“Whatever she is,” Thor interjected, “we can stop her _together_. We -”

“No, no, we can’t. I’m on a different path now. This you must face alone.” Odin smiled, wistfully. “I … love you, my sons.”

Beside you, Loki perked up at that, regarding Odin with a hopeful look. But Odin didn’t elaborate any further, instead pointed in the direction of the horizon. The sky was a soft blue, white clouds completed the scenery.

“Look at that,” he said. “Remember this place. Home.”

You didn’t pay the landscape much attention, instead looked at Odin. He spared you a glance himself, the corner of his mouth quirking up. His eyes were back on the ocean when he began to glow, his entire body shining, only to disintegrate in the next moment.

Blinking, you weren’t sure if what you just witnessed could be real. Odin vanished, his being whisked away like sand on a beach during a storm.

Thor and Loki both stood, stepping forward as if to follow their father into nothingness. Loki returned your gaze as you moved to stand beside him.

“Is he … is he dead?” you managed to ask, voice barely audible. Loki didn’t answer, but his silence was clear enough.

“Brother,” he addressed Thor, who was visibly more distressed at what happened. He was clenching his fists, lightning making its path over his knuckles. The look he threw Loki was feral.

“This was your doing,” he practically growled.

The clouds in the sky had turned darker, resembling Thor’s anger. Thunder sounded far too near for your liking. But before Thor could move to attack Loki or you could do something as stupid as step between them (because let’s be honest, you really couldn’t deal with a fight between gods right about now), all your attention was needed elsewhere again.

Something like smoke emitted out of thin air, green light coming out of its mid. It grew gradually larger, forming something akin to a portal. Loki stretched out his hand, fingers gripping your upper arm to pull you behind him.

“Stay here,” he said.

You complied, knowing better than to jump head first into a situation you couldn’t properly assess. And if Odin’s words were true, of Ragnarök falling upon this world, you weren’t sure you could be much of a help.

The storm coming up grew bigger, thunder rumbling once again across the sky. Lightning came down only a few feet next to you, making you jump before you realized it was just Thor changing his clothes. What a drama queen.

The portal had sunk to the ground by now, still emitting green light out of dark smoke. Out of it stepped a woman, who looked at first glance like … well, like a female version of Loki. Long black hair that was pulled back by the gust of the portal behind her closing. High cheekbones and green eyes adorned by black eye shadow. The skin tight green and black suit did nothing to hid her perfect hour glass body shape. She had a smile on her lips.

What did Odin say was her name? Hela? Goddess of death? You could only hope she would like her brothers.

“So he’s gone?” she asked, more rhetorical than serious. The smile turned to a satisfied smirk, making the uneasy feeling in your gut grow.

“It’s a shame,” she continued, looking genuinely disappointed now. “I would have liked to see that.”

Thor ignored that. “You must be Hela,” he said, stating the obvious. “I am Thor, son of Odin.”

“Really?” Hela looked her little brother up and down. “You don’t look like him.” Her gaze turned to Loki when he spoke up.

“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”

Hela laughed. “ _You_ sound like him.” She regarded them both with an appraising look.

“ _Kneel.”_

“Beg your pardon?” Loki sounded utterly baffled, but Hela didn’t care. She opened her hand at her side, a blade appearing out of nowhere.

“Kneel,” she repeated, looking back at you all, “before your _Queen_.”

“I don’t think so.”

With that, Thor drew back his arm, hauling his hammer right at his sister. Looks like you couldn’t escape a fight between gods. What you didn’t expect, and neither Thor nor Loki, either, was Hela catching Mjölnir with a single hand, still smiling as if she was holding a flower and not a divine weapon.

“It’s not possible,” Thor strained to say, his hand still outstretched but Mjölnir didn’t flow back to him.

“Darling,” Hela laughed, “you have no idea what’s possible.”

A sharp screeching sound grew in the air, becoming nearly unbearably loud for your ears. It all peaked in a burst of lightning, erupting over the whole space. Mjölnir fell to the ground in pieces.

You couldn’t help the little yelp that escaped your throat as you raised your hands to shield yourself. It was no use, though. The lightning traveled across your skin, burning your hands and bare arms. Your cheeks and forehead were burned where you hadn’t been able to protect the skin, your clothes were torn, though the skin underneath was burned, it wasn’t as bad as the rest.

The pain was great, nearly too much, but you couldn’t do more than utter a choked gasp. While Thor and Loki were both unharmed, your skin was an angry red, cracked, with ugly blisters forming. Helplessly, you stumbled forward, closer to your soulmate.

“Loki,” you whimpered, despite everything feeling relieved when he turned to you, hands coming to your shoulders to steady you.

“And what have we here?” Hela’s deep voice sounded, making you flinch. She was regarding you curiously, eyes raking over your burned skin.

“A mere mortal,” she purred, watching as your skin slowly began to knit itself back together. “Yet so _special.”_

The goddess of death stepped closer purposefully, drawing not one but two blades this time.

Even though soulmates were rare and not much was known about the limit of the power two bonded souls possessed, you were sure death wasn’t something you or Loki could protect each other against with a mere bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm really happy I finally found the time to continue writing for this series! Enjoy, lovelies!

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated. Tell me what you think!
> 
> Visit me on [tumblr](https://secondxreality.tumblr.com)!


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